Regina King, the UberMonarch of Acting

We'e you stunned by that one performance in RAY, and couldn't you not take your eyes of the actor, and didn't you think it deserved an Oscar? Me, too! And you know we're talking about Regina King, the Queen King of acting, the woman so versatile she needs a Bo Knows Acting campaign of her own.

Every time Ms King was on-screen in that movie, I couldn't take my eyes off her. That's what people mean when they talk about an actor bringing "energy" to a scene -- it doesn't mean shouting or running around or making those Jim Carrey faces (which, when he Eternally Sunshines or Man on the Moons, he's so good that he should only do projects with heavenly bodies in the title, but everything else gets into Fire Marshall Bill territory) -- it means being so alive that you light up the whole scene.

I just saw Year of the Dog, written and directed by Mike White, one of my favorite writers working today, and he might have performed a thought-experiment on me while casting, because he managed to fill his movie up with many of my favorites. Not least was King, but also there was my old Second City teacher Craig Cackowski! And Susan Mackin, who acted in a table read for one of my scripts! And Dr Steve Brule!

But back to business -- Regina King has that screen charisma that you can't buy or develop or fake. You either have it or you don't. Hollywood, wake up! King FTW!

p.s. How great is it that she was the kid in 227? God, could we use a dose of Marla Gibbs sass in this frozen-doll world of Hollywood women we've got going now. There are no women on TV giving us the business like Ms Gibbs did when I was growing up, and somehow I think that explains why we as a nation have become as arrogant and self-absorbed as Mr Jefferson and Jackee combined. Hey, you kids! Get off of my apartment stoop!